Venturing Out of the Comfort Zone: Shawarma

I love Greek food. I love Mediterranean food. I love gyros. I love shawarma. Pretty much, if you can skewer it, roast it with spices, kabob it, what have you, I’ll have it. Many people can attest to the fact that I claim to have 0 knowledge of how to cook this type of food. And truly, I do not. This is most certainly NOT one of those meals I can whip up at any time, anywhere. This meal required some research and planning, but surprisingly, I only needed to buy one oddball item.

Was it as good as the shaved to order, tower of chicken that one can get at a traditional shawarma restaurant? Not quite- but in a pinch, it hit the spot. For a metro area of 400,000 people, I am still shocked that the Quad Cities does not have one real gyros/shawarma place. If you happen to be in a larger metro- check out Naf Naf Grill. Their shawarma will knock your socks off.

This recipe adaptation is an ode to the delicious Naf Naf pita- I did what I could with what I had. I experimented with an ingredient I have never used before, and I have to say, it was pretty successful.

Chicken Shawarma and Mediterranean Salad

Ingredients:

Boneless, skinless chicken breast, pounded to 1/2 inch thickness

Pitas (I had to get creative here since my grocery store did not have pitas. I used the Flatout wraps and that was great too)

Marinade for chicken:

1 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

Juice from 1 medium lemon

3 garlic cloves, minced

1 teaspoon cumin

1 teaspoon smoked paprika

¼ teaspoon turmeric

¼ teaspoon curry powder

1/8 teaspoon cinnamon

Pinch red pepper flakes

1 teaspoon kosher salt

Freshly ground black pepper, to taste

Yogurt Sauce:

1 (7-ounce) container 2% Greek yogurt (I like Fage)

2 teaspoons lemon juice

2 garlic cloves, finely minced

1/8 tsp kosher salt

Parsley flakes

Salad

1 seedless cucumber, chopped

2 Roma tomatoes, chopped

Salt and Pepper

White wine vinegar

Olive Oil

Mint

Steps:

Combine the oil and lemon juice in a bowl

Add the spices and combine well

Place chicken in a Ziplock bag, pour marinade over the top, and massage into chicken. Let sit in refrigerator at least 1 hour, preferably overnight.

Mix salad ingredients in a bowl and refrigerate.

Mix yogurt ingredients in a bowl and refrigerate.

Grill the chicken and slice thinly

Serve with salad on the side or inside the pita, and top with yogurt sauce.